Devi ran aimlessly. She had already forgotten the way to the small room. It wasn't possible to remember her way around in one day… A thought came to her mind thinking of that room. 'If that isn't my room and it's in this mansion then who were those two girls? Mom said it's our second house... Why are strangers here? They wore matching clothes. Were they some friends who came to visit me? But they acted weirdly… and ran away without saying much...' She decided to forget about it. She would see them later and ask, but for now, she had to find her way back to the pink room.
Devi couldn't know how much time passed but she felt exhausted and thirsty. Her mouth didn't feel dry but her body was screaming for something to drink. Her legs were aching and she was breathing heavily. Her lungs felt heavy and she would let out a cough once in a while. She was jogging at first but soon started walking slower and slower before coming to a complete stop.
Devi hugged her book, not wanting for it to fall down. She was pouting. She only felt this weak when she was being bullied. Unlike what she hoped, her feet stumbled against something. It made her lose balance and she felt flat on the ground on top of something uncomfortable. She stayed shaken in place until she heard a voice. "My leg!"
Devi slowly turned her head to find a skinny black haired guy. He wore a uniform that looked like the one those girls wore but darker. She couldn't see his eyes, they were covered by his black hair. She sat up and reached her hand to pat the things on top of the guy's head that looked like horns but her hand was mercilessly slapped. "Watch where you are going kiddo and don't touch me with your dirty hands." The guy said before disappearing into some black smoke. Some of that smoke lingered around and Devi looked at it with a confused yet interested expression. For the first time, she saw magic with both of her eyes.
The black thing became thin and looked as if it was spinning on itself. Devi, not feeling or knowing the danger magic represents, kept looking at it with curiosity and shining eyes. She didn't think that some smoke would be able to hurt her. After all, it was just smoke. She tried to move closer but it was as if her body didn't want to listen to her and she could only wave an arm in front of her while holding her book with the other. Suddenly, The black needle pierced Devi's heart before she could even blink. She let her left arm suspended in the air while her right one let go of the book.
Devi felt something weird inside her body. It was slowly spreading from her heart to the tips of her fingers. It felt like something was crawling inside her skin. Her blood veins felt slightly itchy. She started by rubbing her legs together and rubbing her fingers on her arms. With each heartbeat, the itchiness was intensifying. Devi was starting to get scared and began gently scratching her arms, legs and face. No matter how much she tried to be gentle, the unpleasant feeling in her veins was making her go crazy. There were already scratches with blood dripping out of them on her face.
Devi whimpered and rolled on the ground. She couldn't keep being gentle, she wanted to grab her veins and rip them out, to scratch so hard that she would no longer feel the itchiness. The scars on her arms were getting deeper and deeper while blood stained the ground and her clothes. She was rolling on herself and rubbing her back on the floor. Devi didn't even know how she could move so much when she felt exhausted just seconds ago. The only thing on her mind was to scratch till it stops.
Devi was so desperate, she cried. Not from pain, but the torturous itchiness that wouldn't go away. She wanted to stop her heart from beating by sticking her hand in her chest and crushing her heart, but it was impossible to do. Tears were rolling down her cheeks one after the other. "Please…." She let out with difficulty. The words weren't for any particular person. Because Devi opened her mouth, the droll couldn't help but leak out from her lip.
As if heaven heard her, a warm feeling started to accumulate in her body. It also began from her heart but it was much slower in taking effect than how the itchiness came. Devi scratched less and less till she finally stopped crying and itching. Now she was hugging her knees, curling herself into a ball. She looked like a mess.
Devi let out a sigh. That unpleasant feeling was finally gone. She still stayed like that and enjoyed the moment, forgetting she was on the ground in the first place. She closed her eyes, almost falling asleep and felt like another layer of warmth came to cover her. If someone walked in this halfway, they would first see some idiot sleeping on the floor, then that person being surrounded by a faint golden light. Luckily for Devi, at this time, no one was passing by. Devi couldn't believe a moment ago she was being tortured and now felt this longing warmth. Sadly... it couldn't last for longer.
Slowly, Devi opened her eyes. Her body had not one drop of blood, while the ground looked as clean as before. Devi looked at her arms with a scared gasp then looked hysterically around her. Soon her eyes landed on her black book. She dashed towards it and glided on her stomach till she could grab it in her hands. Once it was safe in her hand, she got up with an horrified scream. "Nooooooo look how dirty it is!" This book counted so much for her. The moment she saw it, she liked it. How could she let it get dirty!
Devi wiped then blew on her book and patted it to take the dust away. She carefully inspected it to see if there was any dirt left and with a satisfied smile, she hugged the book. "Well! Thanks strange boy for giving me magical powers! Even if it was unpleasant. Oh!" She remembered her droll and licked it then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
On the other side, the same boy sneezed and rubbed his nose. He mumbled. "I'm being cursed again by some old geezer…"
Devi looked around once again but this time with another objective. To know where she was and as if gaining the knowledge of the world, she knew exactly where the small room was. With a happy smile, she trotted towards the room's direction full of energy. No one would doubt that she was gasping for air minutes ago or being tortured and covered by blood. If you looked carefully, Devi's hair seemed to have gotten a little bit lighter. It was almost unnoticeable.